The market that promotes irregular migration of people out of Brazil is the third most profitable in Brazil, second only to drug and arms trafficking. The Federal Police estimates that it has handled R$ 8 billion in 2021. The destination in general is the United States.
This type of activity depends on a network of intermediaries. Whoever promotes the trip is known as an agent, who usually employs recruiters. In the final stage, the coyotes enter the scene, who have the role of guiding the migrants on their way from Mexico to the United States.
The east of Minas Gerais is a hub for this market. There, a strategy encouraged by the agents is to make the crossing to American soil with children, increasing the chances of staying in the country. This ended up creating a market for renting children, who are taken away with false documents by adults who pose as their parents.
At Breakfast this Wednesday (29), the journalist from leaf Raquel Lopes, who went to the east of Minas Gerais to investigate this market, explains how the scheme works and what the international connections of these criminals are.
The audio program is published on Spotify, partner streaming service of leaf in the initiative and which specializes in music, podcast and video. You can listen to the episode by clicking below. To access the app, simply register for free.
Listen to the episode:
The Café da Manhã is published from Monday to Friday, always at the beginning of the day. The episode is presented by journalists MaurÃcio Meireles and Angela Boldrini, with production by Jessica Maes and Bruno Soraggi. Sound editing is by Thomé Granemann.
.
